Rugby chiefs to decide on future global calendar

Rugby’s leaders are aiming to decide on the game’s future international calendar by October after talks in London this week.

It is usually understood the Six Nations Championship may lose one in every of its relaxation weekends to accommodate an extended November worldwide window.

World Rugby mentioned “participant welfare” was excessive on the agenda.

Representatives from World Rugby, the British and Irish Lions, the Six Nations, and the Rugby Championship, together with stakeholders from Worldwide Rugby Gamers (IRP), the unions {and professional} leagues all attended.

Talks are anticipated to proceed, and any selections must be ratified by the World Rugby Council in October.

Regardless of World Rugby stating “promotion and relegation being a aim for the worldwide calendar”, it’s not thought will probably be included within the early years of the competitors, which can happen throughout years with out a World Cup or a British and Irish Lions tour.

The Six Nations will proceed to be a standalone match with none promotion or relegation.

Considerations within the sport have grown over the quantity of rugby some internationals are anticipated to play with ever-expanding home and worldwide calendars.

The governing physique’s ‘Regulation 9’ is the present framework for the discharge of gamers by golf equipment for worldwide fixtures.

There’s presently meant to be a three-weekend worldwide window in November, however more and more some unions have added a fourth fixture to this era, leaving gray areas for unions and golf equipment regards participant launch.

This week IRP tweeted its views on the talkssaying: “Any international season will need to have alternatives for Rising Nations and should put participant welfare firstly.”

IRP has additionally known as on World Rugby to standardise participant relaxation durations and introduce a most match quota for all gamers worldwide.

Regulation 9 was confirmed as “beneath assessment” by World Rugby.

It added: “Central to the event of the boys’s calendar is optimising participant launch for gamers shifting between the membership and worldwide environments, general welfare optimisation together with relaxation durations, and a better degree of readability round fixtures for high-performance unions and rising nations together with with the Six Nations and SANZAAR [Rugby Championship] groups.”